Hydroxylated cyclopentano polyhydrophenanthrene compounds and method of making the same



Patented Oct. 8, 1945 HYDROXYLATED CYCLOPENTANO POLYHY- DROPHENANTHRENE COMPOUNDS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Hans Herloif Inhorfen, Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Germany, assignor to Schering Corporation, Bloomfield, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application January 19, 1940, Se-

rial No. 314,687. In Germany January 13, 1939 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to cyclopentano polyhydrophenanthrene compounds and more particularl to compounds of this series having a hydroxyl group at the carbon atom 21 and a acids or mineral acids, glacial acetic acid, oxalic acid, acid-salts and others. Th cyclic acetals are obtained in a nearly quantitative yield.

These acetals may be converted according to methods known per se into ketones, for instance, by acid splitting. Advantageously inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid in suitable solvents method of making the same. 5 such as alcohols (see Houben-Weyl, Die Meth- It is well known that a very eficient hormone oden der Organischen Chemie, volume 3 (1923) of the suprarenal cortex, the desoxycorticosterpage 161 ff.) may be used. one, can be obtained from natural sources as well The saturated or unsaturated 3-hydroxy-20- as synthetically according to the process of keto compounds of the pregnane series used as Reichstein as described in Helvetica Chimica starting materials may have further hydroxy Acta 20, page 1164. However, by both methods groups in the ring system or groups convertible the hormone is obtained in an unsatisfactory thereinto by hydrolysis, for instance, in posiyield. tion 11, 12 and/or 17.

Now, I have found that compounds of the preg- When using starting materials saturated in nane series having a hydroxyl group in 21-posi- 15 the ring system, the halogen may be attached tion, are obtained by reacting 3-hydroXy-20-keto not only to the carbon atom 21 but also to the compounds of the pregnane series which may be carbon atom 17 in case a hydrogen atom is pressaturated or unsaturated in the ring system, first ent at the carbon atom 17 which is capable of with halogenating agents to halogenate the substitution. methyl group in the 2l-positions and subsequent- 20 On employing a starting material unsaturated ly with agents capable of substituting halogen in the ring system, also the ring double bond with acyloX-y or hydroxy groups, and finally oxipresent will be saturated by halogen. Hence, the dising th hydroxyl group in 3-position to the keto last mentioned compounds are preferably treatgroup. ed with a correspondingl larger amount of halo- Instead of 3hydroxy-20 keto compounds digen. The saturation of the ring double bond can keto compounds especially such as 3-keto comalso be achieved by a preceding addition of halopounds converted into 3-acetals may be employed. gen hydride.

Preferably cyclic acetals of saturated and unhe a o enat o s ar d u accmding saturated ketosteroids are suitable. The acetalimethods known per se, for instance, by reaction sation may be carried out in any manner known with free halogen as, for instance, bromine, or per se, as described, for instance, in Jacobsohn with substances capa of yielding a pr and Stelzner Lehrbuch der Organischen erabiy in organic solvents.

Chemie,,2nd edition, volume 1, page 62 ff. (1923) The dehalogenation in the side chain is then or in Houben-Weyl, Die Methoden der Organicarried out by a treatment with agents capable schen Chemie, 3d edition, volume 3 (1930), page of replacing halogen with acyloxy or hydroxy 191 497. The group attached to the B-keto group groups. Suitabl substances for this purpose may be an ethylene-glycol, propandiol-L3 or the are, e. g., inorganic bases. The best results are like. As catalysts during the reaction there may achieved by a treatment with salts of organic be used toluene sulfonic acid and other sulfonic 4O acids, as for example, the alkali salts of acetic acid, propionic acid, benzoic acid and the like whereby the halogen at the carbon atom 21 is replaced by an ester group. On employing as starting material compounds containing an ester group in 3-position it is advisable to use alkali salts of such organic acids as introduce in 21- position an ester group which is more diflicultly saponifiable than the ester group in 3-position in order to render possible partial saponification in 3-positlon for subsequent oxidation.

If unsaturated pregnane compounds are used as starting material, then on dehalogenation the halogen present in the nucleus is split 011 under simultaneous reformation of the original double bond; but it is also possible to split off the halogen attached to the nucleus before replacing the halogen at the carbon atom 21, by reforming the original double bond according to methods known per se, for instance, by treatment with alkali iodide according to Finkelstein.

If on halogenation compounds are obtained having halogen also at the carbon atom 17, this halogen is split off on dehalogenation whereby a double bond is formed which can be hydrogenated according to methods known per se, for instance, by means of mild catalytic hydrogenation, for instance, by means of nickel, palladium and the like.

The oxidation of the hydroxyl group present in 3-position, to the keto group is carried out according to methods known per se, for instance, according to the process as described in U. S. patent application Ser. No. 145,824, filed June 1, 1937, wherein oxidation is effected by an exchange of oxidation stages with a ketone or aldehyde in the presence of an alcohol-bound metal. In such process, the starting material is heated with a ketone or aldehyde, which is preferably present in excess, in the presence of an alcoholate of a metal, such as aluminum or magnesium, such metal being bound either to the starting compound, or to another alcohol, the starting compound being thereby converted into a ketone, while the ketone or aldehyde reagent is reduced. (This application has since issued as Patent No. 2,379,832, dated July 3, 1945.) If the free hydroxyl group in 3-position is replaced by a group convertible thereinto, for instance, by saponification, then this free hydroxyl group, of course, is to be reformed before oxidation.

If on the other hand the hydroxy group in 21-position is not esterifled but free it is to be protected by suitable partial esterification or etherification against the attack of the oxidising agent, for instance, by reaction with triaryl chloromethane.

Finally also ester groups produced by treating the halogenated starting material with agents capable of replacing halogen with acyloxy groups can be transformed into free hydroxyl groups according to methods known per se, for instance, by saponification.

The following formulae serve to illustrate the reaction without, however, limiting the same to them.

/-halo8cnatlonk i! N CH: CH|

CHihBJ CHshlll on, H on, I 1m .13 p R H hal bal hal ha] 1 Debalogenation l Debalogenation CH: CH:

CHzR (\iHaR' CH3 (:JO/H CH: ('3 O p Partial w hydtroena lOIl N R R \J H H Partial saponiflcation and oxidation C H1 R COB In these formulae R and R represent hydroxyl groups or groups convertible into the hydroxyl group.

The following examples serve to illustrate the invention without, however, limiting the same to them.

Example 1 To a solution of 1 g. of As'a-pregneno1-3-one- 20 in 20 cc. of chloroform a solution of 0.35 cc. of bromine in 10 cc. of acetic acid and thereafter some drops of a mixture of hydrobromic acidacetic acid are added while shaking. After allowing the reaction mixture to stand for a period of time the colour of bromine has disappeared. Then the mixture is diluted with water and the chloroform layer washed with water several times, clarified with calcium chloride and after filtration evaporated to dryness in a vacuum at 35 C. The bromide obtained as an oily residue is dissolved in a, little benzene and the mixture diluted with a solution of 5 g. of potassium acetate dissolved in- 50 cc. of alcohol. After boiling for half an hour whereby the benzene is evaporated the reaction solution is diluted with water whereby first the potassium bromide is dissolved. On further diluting the mixture an oil separates which is isolated by decanting or by extracting with ether. After subjecting the solution product to a fractional chomatographic adsorption the ZI-acetoxy-pregnenolone is obtained.

it can readily be converted into desoxy-corticosterone acetate according to the method as described in U. S. patent application Ser. No. 145,824.

Example 2 To a solution of 1 g. of pregnenolone acetate in 25 cc. of chloroform a solution of 0.44 cc. of bromine in 20 cc. of glacial acetic acid is added while shaking. After addition of 4 drops of a mixture of hydrobromic acid-acetic acid the solution is kept standing until deceleration, i. e. about 1 to 2 hours. The chloroform solution is then washed with sodium bicarbonate solution and Water and is evaporated to dryness in 2. Vacuum at 40 C. The residue yields after recrystallisation from chloroform-alcohol the 5.6.17.21-tetrabromo pregnenolone acetate in the form of thin leaflets having a melting point of 174-175 C. with decomposition. Yield: 1.15 g.

A solution of 0.5 g. of the tetrabromide obtained as described above, in cc. of benzene is boiled on the Water bath with a solution of 0.4 g. of sodium iodide in 7 cc. of alcohol for 2 hours. The reaction solution colored red by iodine is thoroughly shaken with ether and sodium thiosulfate solution whereupon the obtained colorless ethereal layer is evaporated to dryness. The residue is dissolved in a little alcohol while heating. On cooling the 1'7.21-dibromo-A5.s-pregnenolone acetate crystallises from the mixture in thin leaflets melting after recrystallisation from alcohol at 148-149" C. Yield: 0.3 g.

A solution of 1 g. of the above described dibromide in 5 cc. of toluene is boiled under reflux with a solution of 1 g. of potassium benzoate in cc. of butanol for 5 hours. After addition of ether the reaction solution is washed with a solution of soda and with water. The oil obtained after evaporation of the ether represents crude Ass.1s.n-pregnadienone-20-diol-3.21 acetate 3- benzoate-Zl which is further purified by recrystallisation. From this product the known 21- hydroxy-progesterone is obtained by partial hydrogenation of the Alan double bond, by partial saponification of the 3-acetate group, oxidation of the S-hydroxy group to a keto group, and saponification of the 2l-benzoate group.

Of course, many changes and variations in the reaction conditions, the starting materials used, the halogenating, dehalogenating, hydroxylating, oxidizing, saponifying and the like methods employed, the reaction temperature and duration, and the like may be made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the principles set forth herein and in the claims annexed hereto.

What I claim is:

1. In a process for the production of compounds of the cyclopentano polyhydrophenanthrene series, the step which comprises reacting a member of the group consisting of nuclearly saturated and nuclearly unsaturated 3-R-20-keto compounds of the pregnane series wherein R is a member of the class consisting of 6 and groups convertible into the latter group with the aid of hydrolysis, there being a methyl group occupying the 21-position, with a halogen to convert said methyl group into CH2Hal, Hal standing for halogen.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the starting compound contains in the nucleus as a further substituent a member of the class consisting of a hydroxy group and groups convertible into a hydroxy group with the aid of hydrolysis.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the starting compound contains a further hydroxy group in at least one of the 11, 12, and l7-positions.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the starting material is a pregnenol-3-one-20 compound.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein the halogen is bromine.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the hydroxyl group in 3-position is oxidized to ketonic oxygen by exchange of oxidation stages with a ketone in the presence of an alcohol-bound metal.

7. Method for the production of compounds of the cyclopentano polyhydrophenanthrene series, comprising reacting a member of the group consisting of nuclearly saturated and nuclearly unsaturated 3-R'-20-keto compounds of the pregnane series, wherein R is a group convertible into with the aid of hydrolysis, there being a methyl group occupying the 21-position, with a halogenating agent to convert said methyl group into CHzHal, Hal standing for halogen, reacting the product with a salt of an organic acid to replace the .21-halogen with an ester group, the radical of said organic acid being less easily hydrolyzable in the 2l-position than the substituent at the 3-position, partially saponifying the product to replace the group at the 3-position with the group HANS HERLOFF INHOFFEN. 

